Overview

Pros

Cons

Quick Take

Canon updates its highly popular and successful PowerShot SD series with the SD1300. With a lean build and limited user input, it's a great option for snap-shooters.

The Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS updates the very popular SD1200 IS. Most of the differences between the two cameras are inconsequential – more cosmetic than substantive – with the exception of the disappearance of the SD1200 IS’s optical viewfinder and the SD1300 IS’s 33% more zoom and nifty new power button. The SD1300 IS is a nearly perfect choice for those who don’t want to worry about making any decisions except when to trip the shutter or when to start/stop recording a video clip.

Snap-shooters and casual users will love the diminutive SD1300 IS. Due to the limitations of a 4x zoom they probably won’t be able to capture wildlife or active team sports, but colorful, sharply-focused, properly exposed T-ball shots and informal portraits of family and friends are a lead-pipe cinch.

Canon’s SD series digicams are all about compact style and operational simplicity. These little cameras have been consistently popular with consumers since the first digital ELPH (the S100) was introduced back in 2000 because they reliably deliver what consumers want in a digicam – an image capture device that makes great pictures, is easy to use, offers better-than-average performance, and is reasonably priced.